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A lumnus Q & A
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perceived the world to one where I felt inadequate because of how I perceived the world was a rough transition. I carry that experience with me into the classrooms I go to. How big is the literacy problem with some of our youngsters?
The literacy problem is urgent bordering on an emergency for many urban and rural districts. We have programs in districts like Washington, D.C., that literally have reading proficiency rates in the teens, like 17 percent for some grade levels. Do you see your ideas as a radical change to the status quo?
“We have programs in districts like Washington, D.C., that literally have reading proficiency rates in the teens, like 17 percent for some grade levels.” What did you decide to do?
I thought I could use my knowledge of the entertainment industry to do something about it. So I went with my gut. I got a teaching position at Howard University and started working on a Ph.D. Your academic path then took another turn?
I was at Howard for two years, and I got an inkling to get an MBA. I think the thought was lingering from my years at Belk College at UNC Charlotte. So I went to Toronto to get an MBA, and it was the best two years of my life. I was able to really focus on the philosophy of the school. How I viewed the world, how I wanted to develop a startup company to address some of the problems in education. They have a unique philosophy of problem solving, and it had a huge impact on me. 46 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
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Autumn 2016
How are you translating this in your career?
Kids show their genius in a variety of ways. Many of them don’t see themselves in their education, so they lack a large incentive to become engaged in that process. You’ve got kids of all types, from impoverished conditions at home to very abusive situations. For some of them, just to get to class is a monumental struggle. Then, we present them with a curriculum that doesn’t even acknowledge any of that. It’s difficult for them to see themselves in the educational process. We (Word Liives) respond culturally, and this is what the music does. It is the great equalizer. How does your own story relate to what some of our kids are facing?
I encountered a huge adaptability problem when I moved from Washington, D.C., to Reston, Virginia. Moving from an environment that understood how I
I do believe so. My perspective on education is based on liberating the minds of the youth and enabling them to solve their life’s problems for themselves. Being sophisticated readers and thinkers is key. Our K-12 public education system was designed to prepare the youth for jobs during the Industrial Age. We are quite a ways from that now, economically speaking. For the 21st century, we all should be great problem solvers, in real time. And with production and service techniques so advanced, I think you’ll see our society turning more intently toward solving social problems. How do you plan to use music — specifically hip-hop — to reach these students?
The music that comes from the locales we work in, like any art that is produced, represents how those individuals perceive the world. It’s through the students’ perception of the world that we can do things in classrooms with them that augment their perceptions of the world. For instance, how does their understanding of the use of violence in their world relate to Nelson Mandela’s in South Africa? By integrating the music that their generation is producing, which represents some of their perspective, we get a pathway to study South Africa in say a social studies class and then the speeches Mandela delivered in an English class. Paul Nowell is senior communications manager at UNC Charlotte.